Toothbrush with Integrated Tongue Scraper

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper. The toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper is an all in one dental cleansing device that facilitates the cleaning of the teeth and tongue. The toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper contains a toothbrush body, a tongue scraper, and a scraper shuttle. The toothbrush body constitutes a scraper receiving channel. The scraper receiving channel contains a proximal end and a distal end. The scraper receiving channel traverses between the proximal end and the distal end within the toothbrush body. The tongue scraper is connected adjacent to the scraper shuttle. The scraper shuttle is slidably connected within the scraper receiving channel, where the scraper shuttle traverses between the proximal end and the distal end in order to displace the tongue scraper between a retracted position and a deployed position.

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patentapplication Ser. No. 62/854,627 filed on May 30, 2019.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to toothbrushes. More specifically, thepresent invention relates to a toothbrush with an integrated tonguescraper.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nowadays, most existing toothbrushes lack an integrated tongue scraperfor the convenience of cleaning tongues while brushing teeth. Without atongue cleaning tool, users normally rely on brushing their tongues withthe existing toothbrush bristles, which is unsuitable and ineffective inproperly cleaning the tongue. Some toothbrushes employ tongue scrapingbristles along the back of the toothbrush head to alleviate this, butthese tongue scraping bristles usually wear out quickly, and are limitedto light use. Dedicated tongue scrapers exist but are often a hassle fora user to carry around and handle. Therefore, it is an objective of thepresent invention to provide a toothbrush that integrates a tonguescraper.

The present invention aims to solve these problems. The presentinvention offers a complete mouth cleaning system which employs anintegrated tongue scraper. The toothbrush of the present inventionconceals and secures the tongue scraper such that the toothbrush iscompact and non-intrusive during tooth brushing operation. The presentinvention can be easily cleaned and provides ample amounts of air-flowventilation when drying and not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper comprises a toothbrushbody, a tongue scraper, and a scraper shuttle. The toothbrush withintegrated tongue scraper allows the user to clean their teeth andtongue using the toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper. The user candeploy the integrated tongue scraper along the toothbrush body when inuse or retract the tongue scraper along the toothbrush body when not inuse or when storing the toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper. Thetoothbrush body comprises a scraper receiving channel. The toothbrushbody serves as the chassis of the toothbrush that facilitates thescraper receiving channel. The scraper receiving channel comprises aproximal end and a distal end. The scraper receiving channel traversesbetween the proximal end and the distal end within the toothbrush body.The tongue scraper is connected adjacent to the scraper shuttle. Thescraper shuttle is slidably connected within the scraper receivingchannel, where the scraper shuttle traverses between the proximal endand the distal end in order to displace the tongue scraper between aretracted position and a deployed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the present invention that shows atongue scraper retracted within a toothbrush body.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the present invention that shows thetongue scraper deployed along the toothbrush body.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the present invention taken along circle Bin FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the present invention taken along circle Ain FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention that showsthe tongue scraper deployed along the toothbrush body.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention. The present invention is to bedescribed in detail and is provided in a manner that establishes athorough understanding of the present invention. There may be aspects ofthe present invention that may be practiced or utilized without theimplementation of some features as they are described. It should beunderstood that some details have not been described in detail in orderto not unnecessarily obscure focus of the invention. References hereinto “the preferred embodiment”, “one embodiment”, “some embodiments”, or“alternative embodiments” should be considered to be illustratingaspects of the present invention that may potentially vary in someinstances, and should not be considered to be limiting to the scope ofthe present invention as a whole.

In reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 6, the toothbrush with integratedtongue scraper 1 comprises a toothbrush body 11, a tongue scraper 12,and a scraper shuttle 13. In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper 1 allows theuser to clean their teeth and tongue using the toothbrush withintegrated tongue scraper 1. The user can deploy the integrated tonguescraper 12 along the toothbrush body 11 when in use or retract thetongue scraper 12 along the toothbrush body 11 when not in use or whenstoring the toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper 1. In thepreferred embodiment of the present invention, the toothbrush withintegrated tongue scraper 1 is made out of any suitable material, suchas, but not limited to plastic, stainless steel, aluminum, or any othersuitable material. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention,the toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper 1 may take the form of anysize, facilitating all ages or for any applicational use, such as, butnot limited to travel, home, professional, or any other applicationaluse. The toothbrush body 11 comprises a scraper receiving channel 111,as shown in FIGS. 1-5. The toothbrush body 11 serves as the chassis ofthe toothbrush that facilitates the scraper receiving channel 111. Thescraper receiving channel 111 comprises a proximal end 1111 and a distalend 1112, as shown in FIGS. 1-2 and 4. The scraper receiving channel 111traverses between the proximal end 1111 and the distal end 1112 withinthe toothbrush body 11, as shown in FIGS. 1-2 and 4. The tongue scraper12 is connected adjacent to the scraper shuttle 13, as shown in FIG. 5.The scraper shuttle 13 is slidably connected within the scraperreceiving channel 111, where the scraper shuttle 13 traverses betweenthe proximal end 1111 and the distal end 1112 in order to displace thetongue scraper 12 between a retracted position and a deployed position,as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the toothbrushwith integrated tongue scraper 1 further comprises at least one ventaperture 14, as shown in FIGS. 1-6. The at least one vent aperture 14 isdistributed about the scraper receiving channel 111. The at least onevent aperture 14 traverses through the toothbrush body 11 into thescraper receiving channel 111. The at least one vent aperture 14 allowsample aeration and water permeability of the scraper receiving channel111. More specifically, the at least one vent aperture 14 facilitateseasier drying, cleaning, and sterilizing of the scraper receivingchannel 111.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the toothbrushbody 11 further comprises a toothbrush head 112 and a toothbrush handle113, as shown in FIGS. 1-2, 4, and 6. The toothbrush head 112 isterminally connected to the toothbrush body 11 opposite to the scraperreceiving channel 111. The toothbrush head 112 serves as the teethcleaning member of the toothbrush body 11. In another embodiment of thepresent invention, the toothbrush head 112 is removably connected to thetoothbrush body 11, facilitating a replaceable toothbrush head 112. Thescraper receiving channel 111 traverses between the proximal end 1111and the distal end 1112 within the toothbrush handle 113. The toothbrushhandle 113 serves as the grasping member of the toothbrush body 11.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the toothbrushwith integrated tongue scraper 1 further comprises a cap 15, as shown inFIGS. 1-2, 4, and 6. The tongue scraper 12 comprises a shuttleconnection end 121, a tongue scraping portion 122, and a cap connectionend 123, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The shuttle connection end 121 andthe cap connection end 123 are terminally positioned opposite to eachother along the tongue scraper 12. The tongue scraper 12 portion ispositioned between the shuttle connection end 121 and the cap connectionend 123. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, thetongue scraper 12 may take the form of a copper infused band-styletongue scraper 12 but may take the form of any other suitable tonguescraper 12 with anti-septic properties. The scraper shuttle 13 isconnected terminally adjacent to the shuttle connection end 121. The cap15 is connected terminally adjacent to the cap connection end 123. Thecap 15 allows the user to pull or push the tongue scraper 12 along thescraper receiving channel 111.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the toothbrushwith integrated tongue scraper 1 further comprises a detent mechanism16, as shown in FIGS. 1-5. The detent mechanism 16 comprises a detentarm 161 and a plurality of detent notches 162. The at plurality ofdetent notches 162 is positioned within the scraper receiving channel111. The detent arm 161 is connected adjacent to the scraper shuttle 13.The detent arm 161 is selectably engaged with the plurality of detentnotches 162. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, thedetent mechanism 16 catches the scraper shuttle 13 along the scraperreceiving channel 111, such that the tongue scraper 12 is held in placealong one detent notch 162.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the scraperreceiving channel 111 further comprises a scraper receiving rail 1113,as shown in FIGS. 2-3 and 5. The tongue scraper 12 comprises a shuttleconnection end 121, as shown in FIGS. 4-5. The scraper shuttle 13comprises a scraper guide 131 and a scraper connection tab 132, as shownin FIGS. 4-5. The scraper receiving rail 1113 traverses along thescraper receiving channel 111. The scraper guide 131 is slidably engagedwith the scraper receiving rail 1113. The shuttle connection end 121 isremovably attached to the scraper guide 131 through the scraperconnection tab 132. The removably attached components that constitutesthe scraper shuttle 13 facilitates proper servicing, cleaning, andsterilization of the toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper 1.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A toothbrush with integrated tongue scrapercomprising: a toothbrush body; a scraper shuttle; a tongue scraper; thetoothbrush body comprising a scraper receiving channel; the scraperreceiving channel comprising a proximal end and a distal end; thescraper receiving channel traversing between the proximal end and thedistal end within the toothbrush body; the tongue scraper beingconnected adjacent to the scraper shuttle; and the scraper shuttle beingslidably connected within the scraper receiving channel, wherein thescraper shuttle traverses between the proximal end and the distal end inorder to displace the tongue scraper between a retracted position and adeployed position.
 2. The toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper asclaimed in claim 1 comprising: at least one vent aperture; the at leastone vent aperture is distributed about the scraper receiving channel;and the at least one vent aperture traversing through the toothbrushbody into the scraper receiving channel.
 3. The toothbrush withintegrated tongue scraper as claimed in claim 1 comprising: thetoothbrush body comprising a toothbrush head and a toothbrush handle;and the toothbrush head being terminally connected to the toothbrushbody opposite to the scraper receiving channel.
 4. The toothbrush withintegrated tongue scraper as claimed in claim 3 comprising: the scraperreceiving channel traversing between the proximal end and the distal endwithin the toothbrush handle.
 5. The toothbrush with integrated tonguescraper as claimed in claim 1 comprising: a cap; the tongue scrapercomprising a shuttle connection end, a tongue scraping portion, and acap connection end; the shuttle connection end and the cap connectionend being terminally positioned opposite to each other along the tonguescraper; the tongue scraper portion being positioned between the shuttleconnection end and the cap connection end; the scraper shuttle beingconnected terminally adjacent to the shuttle connection end; and the capbeing connected terminally adjacent to the cap connection end.
 6. Thetoothbrush with integrated tongue scraper as claimed in claim 1comprising: a detent mechanism; the detent mechanism comprising a detentarm, and a plurality of detent notches; the at plurality of detentnotches being positioned within the scraper receiving channel; thedetent arm being connected adjacent to the scraper shuttle; and thedetent arm being selectably engaged with the plurality of detentnotches.
 7. The toothbrush with integrated tongue scraper as claimed inclaim 1 comprising: the scraper receiving channel comprising a scraperreceiving rail; the tongue scraper comprising a shuttle connection end;the scraper shuttle comprising a scraper guide and a scraper connectiontab; the scraper receiving rail traversing along the scraper receivingchannel; the scraper guide being slidably engaged with the scraperreceiving rail; and the shuttle connection end being removably attachedto the scraper guide through the scraper connection tab.